Quinn's Woman by Susan Mallery Page B

plain room, the large bed, a desk with a straight back chair, the low dresser with the television. There weren’t any personal effects lying around, with the exception of a hardback mystery propped open on the bed. No pictures, no wallet, no dirty socks.

    Instead of taking the seat he offered, she grabbed the chair from the desk and turned it around. She was less than ten feet from the door. When Quinn sat on the edge of the bed, she had an unrestricted escape route to either the door or the window. Not that she planned to need either.

    When he was settled, she tried to remember what she’d wanted to say. Somehow she’d forgotten all of her carefully constructed opening lines. So not like her. She would have to improvise.

    “I’m impressed by what happened during the war games,” she said.

    Quinn grinned. “I’m an impressive guy.”

    She ignored the comment and the smile, not to mention the odd fluttering in her stomach. Had the sub sandwich she’d eaten for lunch not agreed with her?

    “I haven’t changed my mind,” she told him. “I still want you to teach me what you know.”

    “I haven’t change my mind, either. Thanks, but I’m not interested.”

    “I plan to convince you.”

    He arched his eyebrows. “How?”

    “By any means necessary. I thought we could work out a trade. You give me what I want and I’ll give you what you want.”

    Quinn had been hit on by a lot of women in his time. Some had actually meant it, while a few were just in it for the money. Still, not one of those invitations had surprised him as much as D.J.’s.

    Sex for information? Why?

    He studied her face, looking for clues. There weren’t any, except for a faint tension that told him she was more nervous than she wanted him to know. He lowered his gaze to her body. She wore a tank top and tight jeans. No bra. She looked good enough to start a war. He couldn’t say he wasn’t tempted, but he had long since learned that nothing in life was easy. People always did things for a reason. What was hers?

    “What’s so important that you’d offer yourself in trade?” he asked.

    She flinched slightly at the question, then quickly brought herself under control. “I don’t choose to look at it that way.”

    So how did she look at it? Her reaction told him she hadn’t come up with the deal lightly. From their first encounter, he knew she was fearless, determined and always looking for an edge. Her seating choice made that clear. She hadn’t taken the more comfortable chair across the room. That seat would have put her at a disadvantage. She wouldn’t have had a clear line to the door and she would have lost precious seconds extricating herself from the soft cushions.

    So what would make her want to subjugate herself to him just to learn a few moves?

    “My work is important to me,” she said. “I’ve told you that I’m often hired to help on cases where children have been kidnapped. I’m trained to go in with the rescue team, be they Federal agents or hired guns. Sometimes those situations set out of hand and I have to improvise. The more I know, the better I can react, the more kids get saved.”

    Uh-huh. Do it for the children, he thought, not impressed or convinced. He didn’t doubt she was good, but that wasn’t why she was here.

    “And that’s it?” he asked.

    She shrugged. “I teach self-defense. My company offers seminars on everything from keeping your children safe to how to survive a mugging. The more I know, the more my students know.”

    “You’re already well trained enough for what you do,” he said.

    When she started to protest, he cut her off.

    “How many black belts do you have?” he asked.

    Her full mouth twisted. “Three.”

    “You can handle guns?”

    “Yes, but –”

    He cut her off again, this time with a quick shake of his head. He stood and wasn’t surprised when she rose as well.

    He walked close, then motioned her to step forward. When she reluctantly did